


You are never coming home, never coming home.

by oathkeptroxas



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Women, Being Your Own Hero, Black Canary - Freeform, Crime Fighting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Redemption, Strong Female Characters, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 21:07:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7590391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oathkeptroxas/pseuds/oathkeptroxas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt:<br/>"How about Laurel already being BC when Oliver returns from Lian Yu?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	You are never coming home, never coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd prefer you request at my tumblr. But if you must do it here, at least leave your thoughts on this piece first.

The most defining quality about Dinah Laurel Lance was that she always put everyone before herself. She’d been dragged through the mud more than anyone else.

One tragedy led into another, like a perverse domino effect on her life. Her boyfriend slept with her sister and she found out after they’d died, her parents broke up as a result of their grief, her mother took off, her father found solace in a bottle. 

She lost her family and the love of her life in one fell swoop, and as always Laurel was too busy thinking about everyone else. No one had time to console the girl who’d lost everything in one devastating blow. 

She hardened against the world. There were so many negative and conflicting emotions battling it out inside her and she just needed a way to let them out. A leaflet posted through her door was her saving grace.

Ted Grant was a remarkable teacher, stead-fast and supportive. He made champions. It was therapy, it was like being reborn. A phoenix from the ashes with every punch she threw, Laurel Lance carved herself into someone else. She had the drive, the motivation, the need to reclaim her life. She’d urged people to call her Dinah instead.

She vowed to never let anyone feel as hopeless and as alone as she had been. Every night she had to pry a bottle from her father’s shaking hands, she’d stomp on the face of a thug. Every time she had to decipher slurred accusations, she’d close a case file on a criminal behind bars. Leather jackets and brief cases, court rulings and gang fights, she always won. Lawyer by day, vigilante by night, Dinah Laurel Lance was fighting for her city. Her home was all she had left, and it’s people were dying.

Whether it was providing legal aid to those who couldn’t afford it or washing clean the criminal underworld that claimed the streets, no matter what she did, she did with with a fire that couldn’t be tamed, that would never go out.

Being Black Canary gave her a purpose, made her feel a little less helpless. With every person she saved, she felt less alone.

Finally, she felt stronger, like she was rebuild and past the devastation of her life. But, just as she’d become confident and comfortable in this routine, he’d come back. Like a ghost, a haunting presence that brought back all of that hurt and resentment and hopelessness, one glance at his face was nearly enough to tear her down. The way he’d said her name like a prayer, a hesitant little “Laurel” that nearly had her knees buckling. She wanted to snap that that wasn’t her anymore.

She’d bitten out venomous words against him, in her valiant attempt to guard her heart. But, deep in the valley of her ribs, there was a sting of warmth. It was like a cleansing breath after being submerged for too long. She found herself relieved that he was alive. She’d spent half of her life madly in love with him, and every day since working to forget him. And as he stood in front of her, she wished she wasn’t happy to see him, she pretended she wasn’t.

But, she recognized that it had never been his intent to cause her harm, and that the hellish years that she’d endured were probably not a patch on what he’d suffered through during his absence. It wasn’t like her to be cold. Being cruel wasn’t in her nature, and she’d regretted her harsh tone the second the words had been spoken.

Steeling herself to confront him again, she’d apologized. She’d never meant to hurt him. She’d lashed out. He was alive and breathing and right in front of her, and there was no way she could’ve prepared herself for that. She walked the fine line between love and hate, but ultimately, he was too important. She’d left soon after, not willing to hang around long enough to do something she would regret.

And she heard Tommy call out to her, her full name falling off his tongue and into the night. And she smiled, bright and wide and open, because Dinah Laurel Lance was strong, despite what had been done to her, despite what continued to tear her down. 

She was always trying to save the world, one way or another. But she’d saved herself first, and she would always be strong enough.

In the weeks that followed a new vigilante encroached on her territory. They danced around each other a lot, offering cryptic messages, and allying against their better judgement when necessary. When she finally was able to rip down that hood, she felt like the rug had been pulled from under her. They were destined to end up here. Oliver and Laurel, always and forever.


End file.
